Insect catching machine



Aprifi 7,145, D C;.- WILLI AMS ,1 'IN'SECT CATCHING MACHINE Fileq April18, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet l IN VEN TOR.

April 1945. D. c. WILLIAMS 2,374,150

INSECT CATCHING MACHINE Filed April'l8, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V ENTOR.

ATI'D R N EYB 'Ieccoin-panying drawings kiit'ec tjon of the arrows andPatented Apr. 17, 1945 bfii'nes, end""itsgenerai object is t6 provide awheeled machine that is pnmarnydesigned fdr "gathering, insects fromgrowin plants; 5a} 'tifeu-larly'bbil' weevils from cotton; end fordeqsiting the irise'cfs'within" a' cdnta ihef, wherein they are"donfined to be subsequently strayed. I I I 1 J E-further object is toprovide an insec rcat'cnm'g' machine of the pneumatic" type, that isadapted to travel albng rows of growing plants, and will remove insectstherefrom withfdnt injury to the plants, in that the machine ir'fludes'a suctign conduit having ,a flXibWfmw'n-ted 'i nl'et section prdvidedwith an intake: having, 155 spa'ced 'rmIe'rs bridging the same t6cbntkdt the plants; thuspreventing the letter item being suckedOf'fieing' drawn within the cnndnft; and

tne, ihlet' secti'on ,is supfibrted'; adjustable "gimme engaging whens"t6 vary the" height zo thereof, ,fn' accordanc with the hfght '0f theplants, I t v. "Andtner' object is top'ro'vide an: ifisectlcaten- Tfiisinvention also consists in certain ether features 6f construction and.in thecdxnbi'navzt'ieiu afi'd arrangement of the several parts; to

hereinafter f-ul l y describegl, iiilust tfated t'fie 1 andspecifically, pqi nted out in the appended claims. II I I t In describing the invention in detail; refere'n'be will be had" to theaccompanying drawings where n like I II fspbnc iin g parts throughoutthe several viewsiand in which;

liiguireis a side elevation of t ematmne whieh forms; the subject,matter of the present 4 i p ib h I 7 t gm e 2 is. a segtionalview takenapproggiel-y o n.1ine-2 --2 nf-Figure 1,; look1ng inthe illustrates pansbroken; away and i'n elevation; I I Figure- 3 is-v a; sectionalviewmately Calif-18; 3 3 of- Figure qdixectionrot the arrows; I I I I IIFjgn ie 4 ,is' a perspective viewof the I ba ffie' pleteto-edntrot thesuction ordrawn into the inlet.-

and extreme y .efgsf characters denote like; 'or some} for 0 in oejaeurF gure-51s a p rspective v-1ew of the gnard' .plalte to prevent passageof debris i'nto the; sucti o n' conduit, a.s ;we11 as, toguide plazntstoward 5 the inlet and in eentaet-wi th the rollie-ii' tliereet.

:11;- ef rrin to the dfaw-inggjnz detaww w Q6 0 belt 2 meda'wm ams; wsssttragei I Aiibli'altibif Aiifii 1's, lamsesmnwmmms i 5501mm. Thisinventionfrefats td-i'nsect catching mezenda; crass the inlet section,as shown in Figure 2. I

and is normally suspended for disposal in proximity to the ground, toride over the plants in brushing relation therewith, as indicatedin'Fig-" ure 1. However, the inlet section can be elevated.

when making a turn at the end of a row,and

for that purpose I provide a'conventional hand lever 29 suitably mountedadjacent the operator's. seat and having one end of a cable 30 connectedthereto,the cable beingv trained aboutpulleys 3i and 32, mounted on anddisposed laterally of a side member I, and theopposite end of the cableis connected to an arm 33 secured toand extending laterally and inwardlyfrom the top wall of The inlet section is also supported by groundengaging wheels 34 journaled on stub shafts 35 that are f xed to thelower ends of longitudinally slotted attaching bars 35 mountedforslidable,

movement between spaced guides 31 secured to the side walls of the inletsection and the bars are held in adjusted position by bolt and nutconnections 38. By that construction, it will be obvious that the inletsection can be supported at various heights relative to the ground, andconsequently in accordance with the height of the plants.

The horizontal portion 39 of the inlet section is preferably square inoutline, as shown, and the outer or intake end thereof is inclined down.

wardly from its top. Securedto and bridging the side walls of thehorizontal portion 39 adjacent'to the outer end thereof is a row ofhorizontally disposed. rods 40 having mounted thereon rollers llspacedan ample distance apart to allow;

for the free passage of the insects drawn from the plants, within theconduit, but preventing the plants'from being drawn therein, thuseliminating injury to the plants, as will beapparent. I

Mounted within the horiz'c'ntal portion 39 is a baiile plate #2 of awidth to extend completely across theisame, and the plate has uprightaperftured cars 43 formed thereonat its corners, for

receiving suitable fastening means thatfeiztend through holes in theside walls of the horizontal; 55

portion; for securing the plate in place, The

\ plate is adjustable for" disposal at various" angles in a verticalplane, and" for thatpurpose therels provided an arcuate row of 'rearholes 44 for receiving the rear fastening means, as will be ap-:;

parent from Figure 3. By providing the adjustable bafileplate', it willbe'obvious 'thatthe force of the incoming air can'be controlled,and'such is important to prevent injury'to "thejplan'ts'.

r A guard plate 45, asbest shown in Figure "5 provid-ed'for the intakeend 'of the inlet-section,

and'is secured to the under face of the horizontal portion 39 bywin'gbolts 45, to extendin'acl vance thereof, so as to prevent passage ofdebris within the conduit, and the guard plate is centrally. recessed asat toreceive and direct'the plants in contact with the rollers 4|. Theouter ends'of the plates are curved upwardly, so as to also preventinjury to the plants;

The end of the casing opposite to-the conduit is open and 'detachablysecured thereto is a container 48 of wire mesh, for receiving theinsects, the container extending horizontally from the casing and itsinner end is secured to the casin by a clamping band 49, while the outerend of the container is rounded in semispherical formation. Removablymounted within the container is a substantially conical partition 50,which is likewise made from wire mesh, and has its apex end openanddirected toward the closed end of the container, it being obviousthat the partition acts as a trap to prevent the insects from escapingfrom the container, when the fan is inactive.

From the above description and disclosure in the drawings, it will beobvious that the machine is drawn along a row of plants, with the intakeend of the conduit directed in alignment with the row, for said end toride over the plants in brushing relation therewith. Such action tendsto loosen the insects which are drawn into the conduit to be, depositedwithin the container, by the air current provided by the fan. When thecontainer become filled, it is removed and the insects are destroyed inany suitable manner.

It is thought fromthe foregoing description that the advantages andnovel features of the invention will be readily apparent.

It is to be understood that changes may be made in the construction andin the combination andarrangement of the several parts, provided thatsuch changes fall within the scope of the appended claims;

What I claim is: I 1. Arr insect catching machine for travel along rowsof plants forgathering insects therefrom, comprising a wheeledsupporting frame, a cylindrical'ca'sing secured to said frame, a conduitdepending from one end of the casing for disposal laterally of theframe,. an intermediate flexible section included in the conduit, arigid lower inlet section secured to the intermediate section andincluding a horizontal portion directed toward the front of the machine,a row of horizontally disposed spaced roller bridging the intake of thelower section, ground engaging wheels supporting the lower sectionandadjustably carried "thereby, a suction fan within the casing fordrawinginsects from the plants, a wire mesh container secured to theopposite end of the casing for receiving the insects therefrom, andmeans mounted in the container for trapping the insects therein.

- 2. An insect catching machine for travel along 'rows of plants forgathering insects therefrom,

comprising a wheeled supporting frame-a casing secured to said frame, aconduit formed on and depending from the casing and providedwith ahorizontally disposed lower inlet portion directed toward the front ofthe machine, rollers bridging the intake of the lower section, a suctionfan in the casing for drawing insects from the plants,

mean for driving the fan, a baffle plate within said horizontal portionandbeing adapted to control the force of air drawn therein, a guardplate secured to and extending forwardly of the intake. said guard platebeing recessed to provide a passage for the plants and having upwardlycurved 'outer ends, and a container removably secured to the casing forreceiving the insects therefrom.

3. An insect catching machine for travel along rows of plants forgathering insects therefrom,

comprising a wheeled supporting frame including' spaced parallel sidemembers, a cylindrical casing-secured to and bridging said side membersand having a closed end, a conduit formed on chine for disposal inbrushing engagement with the plants, rollers bridging the intake of thelower section, ground engaging wheels adjustably secured to the lowersection for supporting the same, an operator's seat secured to theframe, means for elevating the lower section and including a leverdisposed adjacent to the operators seat, a suction fan in the casing fordrawing insects from the plants, means for driving the fan, and acontainer secured to the casing for receiving the insects therefrom.

4. In an insect catching machine, a wheeled supporting frame, acylindrical casing mounted on the frame transversely of its path of.movement, a wire mesh end member attached to and enclosing one end ofthe casing, a conical trap member mounted within the said wire meshmember, a depending conduit connected to theshaped inlet section havingan upwardly directed 4 portion secured to the lower end of the flexiblesectionand having a horizontal section directed forwardly with relationto the frame, a pair of support rollers adiustably connected with thesaid elbow section, a rotary suction fan mounted transversely intheintermediate portion of the casing and operative to draw" insectsinwardly through the end conduit thereof and to blow the same in to thewire mesh end portion, and means on the-supporting frame for rotatingthe said fan.

5. In an insect catching machine, a support frame, a casing mountedhorizontally on the frame having a trap at one end and a dependingsuction conduit at the opposite end, a horizontally disposed inletconduit having a forwardly directed opening mounted at thebottom of saidsuction conduit, a plurality of horizontally arranged rollers mountedwithin the opening, said rollers being disposed transversely of theinlet and at vertically spaced intervals therein, a baflle plate mountedin-an essentially horizontal position in the inlet intermediate the topand bottom thereof and adjustable to incline the same to'regulate theintake, and a rotary suction fan mounted in the casing.

DAVID C. WILLIAMS.

